Choices
by kylie90210
Summary: It's the summer after high school, and Stacey and her friends are looking forward to growing up. Stacey has many choices to make, including one involving her boyfriend Sam Thomas, and his older brother Charlie.
1. Chapter One

Chapter One

Graduation. A day I personally, never thought would happen for my friends and I.

As graduation day loomed, I was filled with mixed feelings. Elation, that the rest of my life was about to begin. Sadness, because my friends and I, for the most part, were parting ways. Nostalgic, for all my school years, both in New York, and here in Stoneybrook. And I felt grateful, because the whole summer lay ahead of us, one last summer to spend together, after years and years filled with them.

I planned to make the best of my summer, in a few different ways. I planned to work hard, and make some decent money for College next year. I planned to spend time with my closest friends, Claudia Kishi, Mary Anne Spier and Kristy Thomas. And I planned to spend as much time as possible with my boyfriend, Sam Thomas, because when I went off to College in New York, Sam would stay behind in Stoneybrook and keep attending Stoneybrook Community College.

Sam and I had been together for two years, since I was a Sophomore and he was a senior at Stoneybrook High. In reality, or feelings for each other had started years before then, when I first moved to Stoneybrook, in seventh grade. Back then, my friends Claudia, Mary Anne and I were in a baby sitting club dreamt up by Sam's sister and our friend, Kristy.

Our club lasted until we entered high school, and really helped me adjust to life in Stoneybrook (compared to growing up in New York), my newly diagnosed diabetes, and my parents divorce.

I say the club helped me, but really, it was my friends who did. Although we have fought a lot over the years, we still managed to maintain our friendships, although at times I did wonder.

In the days leading up to graduation, I began to appreciate all the annoying little habits my friends had picked up long ago, and had never ceased to annoy me. Kristy's lunchtime ritual of making disgusting remarks about the food we were served had almost severed our friendship in junior year, and saw us all sitting at different lunch tables until Kristy promised to tone things down. But the last Wednesday before school ended I found myself grinning when she described the tuna casserole as soggy goat brains served with limp, lifeless worms.

Then there was the time in Freshman year when Mary Anne started dating Cary Reitlin, and we all thought she had lost her mind. For months we watched in horror and shock as Mary Anne and Cary made eyes at each other. It took years for us to accept that this relationship of theirs was working. I found myself tearing up last Thursday night, however, as I met them outside our last English class of the year.

I had avoided wearing Claudia's home made jewelry for years, but when she presented us with matching bracelets on the night before graduation, I wore it proudly.

I think Sam thought I had lost it, when on the night after my last Math class, I insisted on finishing the problems in the last chapter of my Math textbook, instead of meeting him for a movie.

But I didn't care how it looked. I was leaving high school, and moving into a world I had never been before, a world tat required me to move on, grow up, and give up laughing (or moaning) at gross food jokes, second guessing my friends romantic choices, being embarrassed by paper mache and beaded jewelry, and math homework.

"I can't believe it. I _can't_ believe it. I can't _believe_ it." Claudia squealed, dropping her bag on the floor in Kristy's room.

"Missing school already?" Kristy asked her sarcastically, grinning.

"Do you realise, we never have to go back, _ever_?!" Claudia asked me, grabbing my arms as she did so.

"I know Claud, it's great." I replied, giving her an amused look.

There was a knock on the door, and Sam popped his head in.

"Sam!" Kristy bellowed angrily, "You are supposed to me wait for me to let you in! We could have been getting changed!"

"I know." Sam winked at me, making me blush bright red, while Kristy groaned in disgust.

Sam grabbed me arm. "Stace, come with me for a sec, I need to talk to you."

As I followed him out, I heard Kristy yelling, "Don't take too long! It's a girls night tonight!"

Sam lead me to his room, and sat down on his bed, beckoning me to follow. I sat next to him, and turned to him, waiting for what he had to say.

"Stace," he started, grabbing my hand, and placing it on his knee with his own hand, "you're leaving soon. After two years together, we're not going to be able to spend as much time with each other."

"I know Sam," I said gently, slowly pulling our hands back toward the middle of where we sat. "I'm going to miss you. But we'll still see each other. And we have all summer, other than when you are at class, or when I am working."

"Yeah, I know. But I think we need to make sure the time we spend together is quality time, so when we are apart, we will remember how good things were." Sam said, gazing into my eyes.

"Oh Sam, that's very sweet! Maybe we could go on picnics or something romantic. I'm sure there are lots of activities we could do. But I'd better head back to Kristy's room. You know how she gets." I smiled at him, and he reached over to kiss me. I kissed him back, ready to leave and go back to my friends. Sam didn't seem to want to end the kiss though, and it got more intense. Finally, I pulled away, and laughed at him.

"Sam! I have to head back, my friends are waiting. You're just going to have to wait to get some alone time with me." I teased.

Sam stared into my eyes again. "I'll look forward to it." He answered seriously.

"Uh, okay. Well, I'll see you around tonight anyway, you're staying in right?" I asked.

"Some of the guys from the College wanted me to go over to their place, and since you're too busy to spend time with me, I guess I will." Sam said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Sam, it's not that I'm too busy, it's just that I promised my friends. I was hoping to see you around here, but, yeah, I guess you should go to your friends' house, if you want to. I'll be here tomorrow morning too."

I stood up, but leaned back over Sam, and kissed him on the tip of his nose. "Have fun, but don't do anything stupid." I warned lightly. Sam has had a few reckless instances in the past when he drinks, but he doesn't like me to nag, so I try to make it a joke.

"Yeah, it'll be fine," he said, walking me to his door.

"Okay, I'll see you later." I replied, as I slipped out his door. I turned around to head back toward Kristy's room, and came face to face with Charlie.

"Charlie!" I exclaimed, surprised, and a little bit embarrassed.

"Hi Stacey, congratulations on graduation." I saw his eyes dart from me to Sam's door, and I wondered what he thought I had been doing in Sam's room. Nothing, I hoped. "You must be excited, Kristy said you've been accepted to NYU. Maybe we will bump into each other there."

"Oh, I am. It's going to be hard to leave my friends and stuff, and Sam," I added quickly, "But I'm a New York girl at heart."

Charlie smiled at me, and brushed some hair out of his eyes.

"Well, have fun tonight. I'll see you around this madhouse no doubt." He added, grinning at me as he walked off.

"Yeah…" I answered him, watching as he walked off. I remembered what Sam had said about going out, and hoped he didn't do anything foolish.


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

I let myself into the Thomas/Brewer residence, calling out to David Michael and Emily Michelle as I made my way upstairs. After all these years of being with Sam, and being friends with Kristy, I no longer knocked. It was almost like a second home to me, or well, a third home, although I hadn't stayed with Dad for a few months, thanks to finals.

I passed Kristy's room without stopping, I could hear her and Abby yelling at some sports game on TV, and I didn't really want to be stuck in a conversation with them, not when I was so eager to see Sam.

I knocked on his bedroom door, and waited, not hearing anything within.

I entered slowly, not sure Sam was even there, only to find a big lump under the comforter, one hairy leg sticking out. I walked over and tickled the bottom of his foot, which jerker involuntarily away from me.

"Sam! It's almost mid-day." I chastised, pulling the comforter back from his face.

He grinned, peering at me through one half opened eye.

"What a way to be woken up." Sam said sleepily, and before I knew it, he reached over, and pulled me to him.

"Sam!" I shrieked, as he held me to him, pulling the comforter around me also.

"What if your Mum or Watson walks in?" I asked, slightly breathless.

"Are we going to give them something to walk in on?" He asked, all manner of joking gone.

Not this argument again. We'd been over and over this for at least the last two years. I'd told Sam time and time again I just wasn't ready, and he'd always accepted it, begrudgingly. But he'd accepted it. Lately, he'd been alluding to it more and more, and I was running out of excuses.

_I want to wait until I'm a bit older._

_I need to study._

_I'm just not ready yet._

It's not that I didn't want to… It's just that I wanted to be really ready, to make sure it was great, something to look back on.

I didn't want to loose my virginity with Kristy in the next room.

I knew Sam was running out of patience. But he loved me, so I also knew he would wait until I was ready. And I was getting there. I hadn't told Sam yet, but I'd decided that before the end of the summer, before we went off to two different states, it would happen.

I knew Sam would be happy. But until then, he'd have to be content to just fool around.

Sam was still looking at me, so I smiled at him.

"I'm sure we can think of something… But Sam, you know I'm not-"

"I know." Sam cut me off with a sigh.

"You're not ready yet. Boy do I know." He said, shaking his head.


End file.
